A Classic ATMOSPHERE

The event to take you back in time ...

- JOHN TURTON

I've often said that motorcycles are worse than drugs ... because you can get off drugs! Like the evil allure of many things that threaten to rob you of your money, time and sanity, once afflicted with the motorcycle bug it remains in the system FOREVER!

Whether you just ride, choose to race, collect, restore, repair, commute, combine them with travel/adventure, write about them, photograph them for publications, or any combination of the above they're probably going to be there in some capacity until the bitter end.

As an ageing motorcyclist myself, I can speak from experience when I say that the mind is willing, but the body isn't always able, however that shouldn't stop the aforementioned motorcycling types indulging in their pursuit of happiness. And as evidenced by the huge and varied attendance at the International Festival of Speed, with the pits full of classic bikes and their classic owners/riders, it doesn't!

A very professional and well-run event, the Festival of Speed attracts all manner of characters from the competitor with a single bike trailer to large transporters worthy of any racing events paddock. Different classes and categories make for a mixture of bike types and capacities sharing the starting grid, with lineups of up to 30-plus bikes. Catering to all budgets and levels of skill, classic racing produces enough substance to appease even the most afflicted.